


and you would smile (and that would be enough)

by Alice_not_in_Wonderland



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Gen, Hamilton References, Self-Sacrifice, Suicide, as usual, kind of, not really - Freeform, this is somewhat happy i promise, welcome to escape the night we have all the feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 00:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16881942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_not_in_Wonderland/pseuds/Alice_not_in_Wonderland
Summary: or if a different pair ended up making it





	and you would smile (and that would be enough)

**Author's Note:**

> making my debut into the EtN fanbase with this crapload of angst

Ro was going to die.

 

Matt knew the moment he finished the challenge; Joey was right behind him; Manny was making his way through at a steady pace, but Ro had hardly made any progress since he had left that station. She trembled in her jacket, almost a little bit too big for her, before puking to the side with the mug trapped in a tight grip in her hand.

 

He tried to reconcile it. He tried to tell himself that there was nothing he could do, that there was still hope even as Joey stepped out from the mass of strings that had marked the end of the challenge. Ro's eyes flicked up, meeting his, and his heart ached at the resignation that had settled there, dark but not bitter. Ro had always been better than all of them. Manny gets closer and closer to finishing the challenge, and Matt can feel something heavy dropping to the bottom of his gut as Ro throws up over and over and over again. He can't do anything.

 

His hand brushes against his detective badge, clipped to his belt. The metal is cold against his skin. He remembers pressing it to Ro's hand, remembers his own bitter laughter and Ro's pleas for him to stay.

 

_(There's always a choice, Stephanie had told him once. There's always a choice to be a better person.)_

 

Can he go back the church? He remembers the pain before blacking out, remembers the feeling of bone crushing and his mouth dry and aching from his screams, remembers his throat crushed under a heavy hand and him unable to bring air into his lungs. He's not stupid; there's no Lazarus box this time. He thinks about Stephanie and his son, about a family that he wants so desperately to see again. The detective badge is heavy at his waist.

 

_(There's no justice here.)_

 

There isn't. There's no justice in a town where the innocent must die, where the darkness has already claimed Safiya and Colleen and Teala and Roi and JC. There's no justice where half of the crew are gone, when _he's_ already died on a trip that was supposed to be a cheesy adventure or collab.

 

_(Can you face death again?)_

 

Matt watches Ro's face, watches as the darkness holds onto her tighter and tighter, as hope drains one drop at a time from her tired eyes. He thinks about death, only this time it isn't his. He thinks about Ro dragged off to be sacrificed, dead in a town that did not care about the light she brought to others, did not care about her sister waiting at home and Cookie not understanding where his owner went. He thinks about losing his sister, losing his family.

 

_(For Ro? Anything.)_

 

Joey watches him with a critical eye, still encouraging Ro and Manny as best as he can as the challenge draws closer and closer to its end. Matt knows he has little time, so he unclips the badge and gives it to Joey, eyes hard and broken as they've been since he died hours before. He can't let Joey tell Ro, can't let her know, and Joey seems like he's about to protest but keeps his mouth shut. The two of them are broken in the same ways. Matt hopes that he understands.

 

He's a dead man walking, trudging out of sight towards the silhouettes that the witches cast against the night. They bare their teeth at him as he approaches, and he lifts his hands up.

 

"Let them go. Take me."

 

One of their lips curl back into a sneer. "Why should we listen to you? The one that loses the challenge dies, little hero. Haven't you learned the rules?"

 

"I violate those very rules." Matt holds his breath, praying that the years of theater and acting won't fail him now. They can't. "I died hours earlier, and came back. Would it not be better to take me instead?"

 

The witches hiss at him, but don’t strike; he watches as they mutter among themselves and struggles not to run his hands through his hair. The one that had talked to him earlier finally turns back, a cruel smile on her lips. "Fine, little hero. We will be merciful to you and your sentiment."

 

Matt smiles, but something feral and savage claws at his lungs. He's going to die. _For Ro_ , he reminds himself, trying not to break down, to show weakness. _You're doing this for Ro._

 

The witch, presumably the lead one _(but that's just a theory, he thinks hysterically. An Everlock theory)_ announces the conclusion of the challenge, much to the contestants' confusion. Ro looks like she's been run over by a bus, but her eyes focus on his and he watches her breathe out a soft denial. The other two witches wrap their hands around his arms, nails biting into his flesh, but he tries to smile at her.

 

"Sorry Ro," he says, and dammit he's crying now. "Tell Steph that I choose Oliver for our son." He tries to take deep breaths, even as tears spill over his eyes, as he is dragged farther and farther away from his sister. "I always liked the way it sounded."

 

"Matt!" She chokes on a sob. "What are you doing?"

 

"Break the news gently. She has to stay safe with the baby, and he really should meet his Aunt Rosanna." He can't watch her, can't watch the pain that shakes her form so much that he can see it from his place near the altar. He laughs a little, even as Joey brings Ro closer to comfort her, as Calliope begins to herd them all away. "I love you."

 

"MATTHEW!" She screams as they drag her away. Manny steps behind her so she can't see him as he's pushed against the surface of the altar, as their knives are raised above his chest. He hopes that it'll be quicker this time.

 

He can still hear her cries as the world swirls away in darkness and in pain, and he hopes that Stephanie can forgive him.

 

\---

 

Nikita's been in the death challenge far too many times tonight.

 

Objectively, she's glad that it isn't Ro. She really doesn't want to kill Rosanna, even if they don’t know each other _that_ well, and the girl has been having an ongoing emotional breakdown ever since Matt died. She frowns at the thought; she and MatPat hadn't been anywhere near close throughout the night, but they had formed some sort of understanding as the hours dragged on. Maybe not perfect, maybe not even good, but he was a strong competitor that deserved better than he got.

 

That doesn't mean that she wants to be facing off against Manny again. She's not stupid, either; she knows better than to think that they'll both make it out this time. A dark part of her almost wishes that it was Joey that she had to go against; the man is scrawny as all hell and has been acting shady all night.

 

Manny stares at her, wrapped in the straitjacket, and the emotions that she had compartmentalized burst out for a moment before she squishes them down again. Now is not to think about his joy when she made it out against Roi, her laughter when he had made it just as she knew he could against Matt. Now is not to think about lazy afternoons making videos and swapping makeup and laughing so hard her stomach clenches in on itself. Somehow, in the memories, her eyes had drifted up to meet his, and everything goes silent.

 

_(He's so afraid.)_

 

His eyes are wide and shiny with tears, and she feels like she'll buckle from the sudden weight in her hands. For the first time since the challenge began, everything snaps into brutal clarity, and she stifles down a sob.

 

_(Kill your friend or kill yourself.)_

 

She thought she was ok with this. She thought that she had made her peace, back in that Funhouse with the terrible lollipops and the godawful beanbag toss and everything that would never be fun, ever, but she hasn't. Maybe it had been different to that Nikita, who was in a different room and who had so much to survive for, who was smoldering with too much anger to recognize the grief she had already pushed far, far away. Maybe it had been different when the fishhook with its cruel, sharp blade was in the hands of a monster, and not a deceivingly innocent weapon cold and heavy in her own hands.

 

_(Make your choice.)_

 

Can you ever be ok with killing your own friend?

 

The other contestants are screaming _(or what's left of them, anyways, because almost all of them are dead and she or Manny will be next, isn't that ironic)_ and if she focuses enough, she can catch an odd word or phrase. She can't focus. She can't breathe.

 

_("Hey Nikita," someone had commented on her newest video, simple and random and as full of spelling mistakes as YouTube comments usually are. "How'd you meet Manny?"_

 

_She remembers the way he smiled, bright and sassy and kind, remembers his snark and how it disguised a heart of pure gold. She remembers the way they had laughed while scrolling through the comments, sharing memories that she'd half-forgotten, remembers the way her heart swelled because they were partners, best friends, and-_

 

_"I'd do anything for you, Nikita." He shrugged afterwards, like it had been a simple fact of the universe. Something inside of her resonated with the love in his words; she'd never believed in soulmates, but maybe their friendship had been woven in the stars._

 

_"I love you too, Manny.")_

 

Lucy laughs at her predicament but suddenly it's not much of a choice at all. She smiles at Manny, soft and sweet and her brain feels like spun sugar, but it's ok. His eyes grow imposssibly wider and she laughs. It's genuine, somehow. She wonders if Matt felt this way before he died.

 

"Love you Manny," she says, the barrel cold against the side of her head. People are screaming from across the room, but she focuses herself on Manny. In this hell, she wants his face to be the last thing she sees, because she deserved to live but if she's dying, she's dying for her best friend. "Guess I'm going out with a bang."

 

He opens his mouth, struggling towards her, and she pulls the trigger.

 

_Goodbye._

 

\---

 

Nikita wakes up to a church, two people at its doors. Her ears ring with the phantom sound of a gun, but her hand comes back dry when she pulls it to the side of her head. They smile wanly as she walks past, and she tries not to cry as she enters the church's doors.

 

Matt greets her on the other end.

 

"Nikita?"

 

She smiles. He looks the same as when she saw him last, but something in his eyes seems more free, like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. His smile is sad but genuine, and she wonders if he knows what she did.

 

"Ro's safe," she blurts out, and his smile widens. Nikita may not have had all the details, but she knows Matt well enough to know that he didn't fail the challenge without rigging it against himself. He seems to have the same thoughts, and he pulls her into a hug.

 

"You're allowed to cry, you know." His words are hesitant but steady. "Dying isn't easy; I should know."

 

She lets tears fall from her eyes, silently moving down her cheeks.  Matt's comfort is awkward but not unwanted, and she lets herself mourn the life she could've had. He smiles as she stands up, meeting her steely gaze with an even one of his own.

 

"You ready to see the others again?"

 

She nods. He leads her away from the church and she worries her lip with her teeth. Her head buzzes with questions and what-ifs, but she asks only one.

 

"Why'd you do it?"

 

He pauses. She looks to his belt; the detective badge isn't there. Rosanna hadn't let go of it for as long as she saw her after Matt died. He turns his head so she can't see his eyes, but the shakiness of his voice is enough for her.

 

"I love Ro. I couldn't let her die."

 

"I loved Manny." They stand there, awkwardly silent, before she giggles a bit. "Guess we aren't as different as we thought, Matt."

 

He smiles wide, and she feels a bright smile on her own face. Maybe in a timeline far, far away from theirs, they had made it out. Maybe they hadn't made the sacrifices they had this time. Maybe they had lived, and maybe they had been happy. Maybe at some point, all of them had escaped Everlock and gone home.

 

_Manny and Ro, hurt and scared but safe as they leave Everlock, a red stuffed pony tucked under Ro's arm and a golden detective badge on her heart. They go back home, they mourn, and Everlock never leaves their lives, but they forge futures beyond the night where they had lost everything. They learn to laugh and live and love again._

 

Maybe this time wasn't a happy ending. But Nikita looks at Matt, because for now their family is safe.

 

Maybe that's enough.

**Author's Note:**

> woot woot want a tissue???
> 
> kudos and comments give me life! this is again my first EtN fic so constructive criticism/anything you want to say is very much appreciated!


End file.
